Change
by PerLuminisPropinquus
Summary: Things have to change, they can not go back so they must move forward. Boyd/Raylan slash. Spoilers of the season finale.


Warning: This is slash. Raylan/Boyd. If you do not like, then please feel free to press the back button. If you flame, I'll laugh at the fact that you actually read something that you disapprove of just so you can whine at me… Also, spoilers for the season finale

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Justified

Change

It was not perfect. It was not good, or right, or easy. It was not even acknowledged. But it was real. It was all he had left. It wasn't enough.

"_No Raylan, I'm going to bet my life on you being the only friend I have left in this world." _His only friend left, and that was using the word very, very loosely. He _knew _that Raylan hated him and God, did that knowledge _hurt. _

It was frowned upon in the Bible, and he had been willing to push it aside while he still had his faith. While he still had his men. Now, he had nothing. It had all been taken from him.

As he had walked away from Raylan, he knew that there was a single bullet left. He knew that it would be almost ridiculously easy for Raylan to kill him now. Knew that there was nothing to stop him from doing exactly that. In a way, he wished that Raylan would pull the trigger. It would hurt less. He would not have to live while his flock was dead, he would not have to fight against his true feelings.

As usual though, Raylan did exactly the opposite of what he had hoped.

The police got there first. He pulled to the side of the road, and watched as they handcuffed her and pushed her into a squad car. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to stop shaking. He had wanted revenge, for his father's death, but more for the fact that they had shot at Raylan, wanted to hurt Raylan.

Someone knocked on his car window. His eyes opened slowly and he turned to see Raylan watching him with an unfathomable expression. He pushed the door open slowly, and stepped out of the car.

"Hello." Raylan greeted.

If he did not know any better, he would have thought that Raylan was unsure of himself, nervous even.

"Raylan." He was cautious, unsure of where they stood now. Unsure of what would happen now that they were safe again.

"Are you alright?" Raylan asked, grimacing as if he regretted the question. He probably did.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he replied.

Raylan nodded, as if he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. He opened his mouth, as if to reply, then stopped.

Something had changed between them. Something that was charging the air around them, a storm about to break. They both stood, unsure of what action to take as the world shifted around them. They both understood that after this, things could not return to the way they had been. Neither was sure that they actually wanted to go back.

Now all they had to do was figure out how to go forward.

He noticed that all the rest of the police had left, he and Raylan were alone, somehow this seemed momentously important.

Without over thinking, because he knew if he thought about what he was about to do he would not be strong enough, not be brave enough, he stepped forward, drawing closer to Raylan. The air crackled. Change loomed.

"Boyd?" Raylan whispered, caught somewhere between a question and a warning.

Boyd ignored him, he couldn't stop now or they would be trapped in Purgatory forever, unable to go back and unwilling to go forward.

Then it happened, momentous in its implications, despite the seeming insignificance of the action itself. Boyd gathered what was left of his courage, of his strength and pressed close to Raylan, pulling the taller man down so that their lips met.

The world shifted and changed. Enemies to allies. Allies to something more. Something new. Something real. Something good.

"Why?" Raylan asked, pulling away slightly, so they were just barely touching, but not totally separate either.

Boyd shrugged, "I thought it was justified."

Raylan snorted, "funny." He hesitated briefly, his mind running through the implications of what they had just done. Raylan shrugged, and kissed Boyd again, consequences be damned.

"I thought so." Boyd grinned when they separated, feeling happier, more complete than he ever had before.

Screw religion. This was much better.


End file.
